July 19
Events * 711 - Muslim forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic. *1333 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill - The final battle of the war. *1544 - Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne began. *1545 - The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth. *1553 - Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days. *1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - The Spanish Armada sighted in the English Channel. *1692 - Salem Witch Trials: Five women are hanged for witchcraft in Salem. *1760 - The formal request to found the later city of Mayagüez is filed by its founders. *1843 - Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and also becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world. *1848 - Women's rights: The two day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York and the "Bloomers" are introduced at the feminist convention. *1863 - American Civil War: Morgan's Raid - At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River. *1870 - Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia. *1873 - William Gosse becomes the first European to discover Ayers Rock (Uluru) and names it in honour of South Australian Premier Sir Henry Ayers. *1879 - Doc Holliday kills for the first time after a man shoots up his New Mexico saloon. *1912 - A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town. *1919 - Following Peace Day celebrations marking the end of World War I, ex-servicemen rioted and burnt down Luton Town Hall. *1940 - World War II: Battle of Cape Spada - The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties. * 1940 - World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. *1940 - Adolf Hitler makes a peace offer to Britain, which Winston Churchill immediately rejects. *1942 - World War II: Battle of the Atlantic - German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz orders the last U-boats to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions in response to the effective American convoy system. *1945 - Montgomery Ward is seized by United States Army troops at the direction of Attorney General Francis Biddle because of its refusal to obey National War Labor Board orders. Montgomery Ward chairman Seward Avery is carried out of his office by troops. *1947 - Burmese nationalist Aung San and 6 of his cabinet and 2 non-cabinet members were assassinated. *1963 - Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention. *1964 - Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam. *1967 - A Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727 and a Cessna 310 collided in mid-air over Hendersonville, North Carolina killing 82. *1976 - Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created. *1979 - The Sandinista rebels overthrow the U.S.-backed government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua. *1985 - The Val di Stava dam collapse killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy. *1989 - United Airlines flight 232 crashes in Sioux City killing 112 of the 296 passengers. * 1989 - Charles Sturt University, Australia established in honour of explorer Charles Sturt. Births *1670 - Richard Leveridge, English bass and composer (d. 1758) *1688 - Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary to China (d. 1766) *1744 - Heinrich Christian Boie, German author (d. 1806) *1759 - Seraphim of Sarov, Russian Orthodox Saint (d. 1833) *1789 - John Martin, English painter (d. 1854) *1800 - Juan José Flores, military and first president of Ecuador (d. 1864) *1814 - Samuel Colt, American firearms inventor (d. 1862) *1819 - Gottfried Keller, Swiss writer (d. 1890) *1822 - Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1916) *1827 - Mangal Pandey, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1857) *1834 - Edgar Degas, French painter (d. 1917) *1860 - Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (d. 1927) *1865 - Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon and founder of the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939) *1876 - Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972) *1877 - Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949) *1883 - Max Fleischer, Austrian animator and film producer (d. 1972) *1893 - Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian poet (d. 1930) *1894 - Khawaja Nazimuddin, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965) * 1894 - Aleksandr Yakovlevich Khinchin, Russian mathematician (d. 1959) *1895 - Xu Beihong, Chinese painter (d. 1953) *1896 - A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (d. 1981) * 1896 - Bob Meusel, American baseball player (d. 1977) *1898 - Herbert Marcuse, German-born philosopher (d. 1979) *1904 - Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, Last Lincoln descendant (d.1985) *1912 - Norman Carr, British conservationist (b. 1997) *1914 - Marius Russo, baseball player (d. 2005) *1917 - William Scranton, American politician *1919 - Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet (d. 2005) *1921 - Rosalyn Yalow, American physicist, Nobel laureate *1922 - George McGovern, American politician *1924 - Stanley K. Hathaway, American politician (d. 2005) * 1924 - Pat Hingle, American actor *1925 - Sue Thompson, American pop and country music singer *1926 - Helen Gallagher, American actress, Ryan's Hope *1934 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980) *1935 - Vasily Livanov, Russian and Soviet film actor *1937 - George Hamilton IV, American country singer *1938 - Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist * 1938 - Nicholas Bethell, British historian (d. 2007) * 1938 - Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993) *1941 - Vikki Carr, American singer * 1941 - Neelie Kroes, Dutch EU Commissioner for Competition *1946 - Alan Gorrie, Scottish musician (Average White Band) * 1946 - Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player *1947 - Hans-Jürgen Kreische, East German footballer * 1947 - Bernie Leadon, American musician (The Eagles) * 1947 - Brian May, English guitarist (Queen) *1948 - Beverly Archer, American actress * 1948 - Keith Godchaux, American musician (Grateful Dead) (d. 1980) *1949 - Ivar Kants, Australian actor *1950 - Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance * 1950 - Freddy Moore, American songwriter *1951 - Abel Ferrara, American filmmaker *1952 - Allen Collins, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1990) * 1952 - Robert A. Ficano, County Executive for Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit and environs) *1954 - Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist *1956 - Nikki Sudden, English musician (d. 2006) *1958 - Reuben Kane, American professional wrestler * 1958 - David Robertson, American symphony orchestra conductor *1960 - Atom Egoyan, Canadian filmmaker *1961 - Maria Filatova, Soviet gymnast * 1961 - Hideo Nakata, Japanese film director * 1961 - Campbell Scott, American actor * 1961 - Benoît Mariage, Belgian film director *1962 - Anthony Edwards, American actor *1964 - Masahiko Kondo, Japanese singer, actor and racing driver *1965 - Stuart Scott, American sportscaster *1966 - Nancy Walls, American actress * 1966 - David Segui, American baseball player *1967 - Yael Abecassis, Israeli actress and model *1968 - Robert Flynn, American musician (Machine Head) * 1968 - Jim Norton, American comedian and radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show) * 1968 - Matthew Libatique, Filipino-American cinematographer * 1971 - Russell Allen, American musician (Symphony X) *1971 - Urs Bühler, Swiss tenor (Il Divo) * 1971 - Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer *1973 - Martin Powell, English musician (Cradle of Filth) * 1973 - Saïd Taghmaoui, French actor * 1973 - Scott Walker, Canadian hockey player *1974 - Preston Wilson, baseball player *1976 - Vinessa Shaw, American actress * 1976 - Kostas Bantas, Greek footballer * 1977 - Ed Smith, English cricketer *1977 - Charles John Spencer, American professional wrestler * 1977 - Haitham Mustafa, Sudanese footballer * 1977 - Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey goaltender *1978 - Nené, Brazilian footballer *1979 - Luke Young, English footballer * 1979 - Rick Ankiel, Baseball pitcher/ outfielder *1980 - Giorgio Mondini, Italian racing driver * 1980 - Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player * 1980 - Mark Webber, American actor *1981 - Didz Hammond, bassist/backing vocalist (Dirty Pretty Things and The Cooper Temple Clause) * 1981 - Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player * 1981 - Anderson Luiz de Carvalho, Brazilian footballer *1982 - Jared Padalecki, American actor * 1982 - Stuart Parnaby, English footballer * 1982 - Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer *1984 - Lasse Gjertsen, Norweigan animator, musician, and videographer * 1984 - Adam Morrison, American basketball player * 1984 - Lewis Price, Welsh footballer *1990 - Steven Anthony Lawrence, American actor Deaths * 514 - Pope Symmachus, Italian clergy (b. 498) * 931 - Uda, Emperor of Japan (b. 867) *1374 - Petrarch, Italian poet (b. 1304) *1415 - Philippa of Lancaster, wife of John I of Portugal (plague) (b. 1359) *1543 - Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII of England *1631 - Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher (b. 1550) *1692 - Sarah Good, Puritan accused of being witch during Salem Witch Trials (b. 1653) *1742 - William Somervile, English poet (b. 1675) *1810 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Queen of Prussia (b. 1776) *1814 - Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer of Australia (b. 1774) *1838 - Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (b. 1785) *1850 - Margaret Fuller, American writer (b. 1810) *1857 - Stefano Franscini, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1796) *1868 - Soji Okita, Japanese samurai (b. 1842 or 1844) *1896 - Abraham H. Cannon, American Mormon apostle (b. 1859) *1910 - Johann Gottfried Galle, German astronomer (b. 1812) *1913 - Clímaco Calderón, President of Colombia (b.1852) *1947 - Aung San, Burmese nationalist (assassinated) (b. 1915) * 1947 - U Razak, Burmese politician (b. 1898) *1965 - Syngman Rhee, first President of South Korea (b. 1875) *1972 - Hezekiah M. Washburn, missionary (b. 1884) *1974 - Joe Flynn, American actor (b. 1924) *1975 - Lefty Frizzell, American country music singer and songwriter (b. 1928) *1980 - Nihat Erim, Prime Minister of Turkey (assassinated) (b. 1912) *1981 - Roger Doucet, French Canadian tenor (b. 1919) *1984 - Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896) *1985 - Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer (b. 1938) *1989 - Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (b. 1913) *1990 - Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907) *1998 - Elmer Valo, baseball player (b. 1921) *2002 - Alan Lomax, American folksong collector (b. 1915) *2003 - Bill Bright, American evangelist (b. 1921) * 2003 - Pierre Graber, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1908) *2004 - Reverend Francis Marzen, American Catholic prelate (b. 1924) * 2004 - Zenko Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911) *2005 - John Tyndall, British politician (b. 1934) * 2005 - Edward Bunker, American writer (b. 1933) *2006 - Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920) *2007 - Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentine cartoonist (b. 1944) * 2007 - A. K. Faezul Huq, Lawyer, politician, and freelance journalist (b. 1945) Holidays and observances *Roman festivals - Lucaria. *Malaysia - Birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan. *Myanmar - Burmese Martyrs' Day. *Nicaragua - National Liberation Day. Liturgical Feasts *Saint Arsenius, abbot (sometimes only monk), confessor died 449 common in the Roman Catholic Church *Saint Bernulf, died 1054 *Saint Martin of Trier, bishop of Trier, martyr Trier *Saint Symmachus, pope *Saint Christine, virgin, martyr Freising, Paderborn *Saints Justa and Rufina, martyrs France *Saint Justine as Saint-Just *Saint Kirdjun, converted thief and martyr*Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saint. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. *Saint Macrina, Sister of St. Basil the Great *Saint Rufina, virgin, martyr France *Saint Dios, the Venerable References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:July